This is an archive of megillot that are outside the Biblical canon yet prepared for (or special to) days in the Jewish calendar, as well as in civil calendars. The collection includes works derived from works authored in Classical Antiquity (such as Megillat Antiokhus), medieval works for Purim Sheni commemorations (such as Megillat Saragossa), and modern works (such as the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel). Most of these works are explicitly referred to as megillot (lit. scrolls) but there are several maasiyot (tales) and at least one haftarah intended for reading during the Torah reading service on a special day. Filter resources by Name Filter resources by Tag Filter resources by Category Filter resources by Language Filter resources by Date Range
The text of Ma’aseh Yehudit, the story of Judith, as found in Sefer Ḥemdat Yamim, a mystical compilation of customs and tiqqunim first published in İzmir in around 1731. (This text is also found as “Maaseh Yehudit, Version 2” in Judah David Eisenstein’s monumental Otzar Midrashim compilation.) Sefer Ḥemdat Yamim is a unique work, likely compiled by a Sabbatean but largely based on earlier pre-Sabbatean mystical sources, and because of this any specific text in it is quite difficult to date. This specific version of the story of Judith shows substantial influence from the Septuagintal text not found in earlier Jewish variants, giving a likely terminus post quem of several generations after the Inquisition when Spanish benei anusim brought their knowledge of the Vulgate’s apocrypha with them to Judaism. Even so, it is very clearly a fundamentally Jewish work. It is appropriate to recite on Yom haBanot (1 Tevet) or any time throughout Ḥanukkah, perhaps with Esther cantillation. Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): The megillah for Plum-Jam Purim or Powidlpurim, a family Purim celebrated by the Brandeis family of Bumsla, Bohemia (Czech: Mladá Boleslav; German: Jungbunzlau) on 10 Adar to commemorate David Brandeis’ liberation from prison on trumped-up charges of poisoning. First published along with a German translation and some genealogical notes in Magazin für die Wissenschaft des Judenthums, vol. 15, 1888. According to Chef/Rabbi Gil Marks z”l, the celebration of Plum-Jam Purim was the origin of prune hamantaschen as a concept — prior to 1731 all hamantaschen had a poppy seed filling! Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): In many Jewish communities around the world, there have been traditional scrolls read for “local Purims,” celebrating redemptions for a specific community. Here in America, we don’t really have an equivalent to that. But we do have Thanksgiving, a day heavily inspired by Biblical traditions of celebration, and one long associated with all that is good about America. Some Jewish communities have a tradition on Thanksgiving of reading Washington’s letter to the Jews of Newport, where he vows to support freedom of religion, famously writing that the United States “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance” – thus rephrasing words originally written in a prior letter by Moses Seixas (say-shas), the sexton of the Touro Synagogue in Newport. This text includes the original English of both Moses Seixas’ letter to Washington and Washington’s return, as well as a somewhat simplified version of the story of Washington’s visit to Newport. Inspired largely by the style of the Book of Esther, it could be read on Thanksgiving morning during the service, using Esther melodies (or going on detours as per personal choice). Categories: Tags: Contributor(s): |
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